Posted on 06/04/2004 9:06:49 AM PDT by jtminton
FORT WORTH - The owner of an East Seminary Drive tire shop was killed Thursday night when the tire he was repairing burst as he worked in front of his wife and four children, police said.
The man, in his mid-40s, suffered severe head injuries about 7:45 p.m. as he worked in the parking lot of Texas Tires, 1245 E. Seminary Drive, police said.
"It was a really loud pop," said 10-year-old Tadea Rios, whose family was also having a tire repaired at the store. "It was so loud it was scary."
Friends identified the man as Abu Hassan, an Iraqi immigrant who owned the business for about seven years. They said he kept long hours, staying open seven days a week and working into the evenings.
"He was apparently using a torch to do some welding to the rim" of a tire from a trailer, said Lt. Gene Jones, a police spokesman. "Heat from the torch may have caused the tire to explode."
The rim was found about 25 feet away, Jones said. It was not clear what part of the tire caused the injuries.
Police led the man's wife and children, ranging in age from 10 to 17, back inside the business. Ministers who work with the Police Department came to counsel the family, he said.
Hassan was injured a few months ago when another tire burst, his friend Allen Yousef said.
"He is a great guy," Yousef said. "Very nice to everyone and all his customers.
"I just got call from someone who said, 'Your friend is dying over here.' It's so sad for his family."
Amar Sghyer said he heard the tire burst from his auto shop a half-mile away. He said working with tires can be more dangerous that some people think.
"I had this happen to me awhile ago, but I got out of the way just in time," he said. "It's terrible that this happened to him."
Hassan had moved here with his family from Basra, Iraq, Sghyer said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alex Branch, (817) 390-7689 abranch@star-telegram.com
Okay. But it seems like there still has to be acetylene gas at 200 psi at least from the diaphragm of the regulator, through the stem and valve, and down to where the porous material/acetone starts. Not a lot of it, but it seems like it still has to be there.
I stopped reading right there.
Call Mr. Darwin. We have a new nominee.
He may have owned his tire shop for 7 years but he didn't know shiite about working safely on automotive tires. A welding torch (oxy-acetylene?) on a pressurized tire? Moron.
We had one in the Ag Shop in hs
Never a problem following safety rules
Not a toy to play with; no tools or equipment is
BOOM!
The tire blew up and blew half the side of his face (all the flesh, cheek) clean off (it hit the wall).
Lots of plastic surgery. His comment: "I'm just glad to be here. I'm lucky to be alive."
He fixed many hundreds of more flats throughout the years (on that same mahcine) until he retired.
He used to let old dead tires pile up behind his station (back in the 60's and 70's) until they got about the height of the roof. Then he would start burning them till they were gone. You could see the smokestack ten miles away.
The EPA never bugged him until about 1990.
Because it makes a bloody mess all over the machinery when they break the seal to remove the tire.
Allah said it was ok.
I watched someone try to weld up a hole in an oilpan still on the car. It was sitting in the driveway with the hood open. About 3 seconds after they started welding there was a loud pop, and the air cleaner bounced off the underside of the hood, and then off the garage door about 10 feet away. They never did find the dipstick.
Either way the family has a good lawsuit as I'm sure the wasn't any warning label on the tire OR wheel like...
I bet the Lawyers are lining up to represent the family!
I thought he might have been trying to weld a cracked spoke on a Dayton rim,with are stamped,DO NOT WELD on the hub itself.You're suppose to scrap the hub and replace it.But maybe he was trying to burn a froze up last lug nut which would explain the rim being blown off.A Dayton rim uses wedges to hold the rim on [for you folks that don't know what a Dayton rim is]The hub would still be be on the truck's spindle,so the rim could have flown across the shop.The cop seemed to think you can weld with a torch[braze maybe]so it isn't clear if the dude was welding or cutting.
Acetone also has a significant vapor pressure and collisions with it are will tend to act like the high surface area metal. As the gas goes over to the low pressure side there will be cooling. Acetone may be condensed in a trap there and returned to the tank. I'll have to see.
Let me know what you find. I've got a spare o2 regulator I could take apart, but it might not be the same.
They used it for awhile and one day while I was on vacation it exploded and the cylindrical SS humidity tank gained another 1/3vol. and went twords shperical. Being PhDs they scratched their heads, thought about it and said let's try that again w/o checking the "door". LOL, they survived and decided it was time to quit 'till I got back.
Every tire, even brand new, is dangerous
Much of the problem is never really learning all safety precautions from experienced pros
An older, dry tire should be lubed before remounting, just as a new tire should be even on a new rim
Many try short cuts or try to cut expenses
One should never work for anyone who will not do the same task themselves is a good rule
Old tire dumps that light off can burn for endless periods and are great homes for mosquitoes and rats
Those tire fires are impossible to put out, much like coal mine fires or the bog fires in the Everglades except much more polluting
You hear much less of them now; penalties should not just be fines, it should include serious prison time
Usually someone with a truck would come by to pick up junked tires and many would actually be 1/2 tread Michelins that were superior to and outlast brand new Good Year radials
Old tires that are not capped should be chipped and used as fuel in tire plants or in many other uses that are well known
For all those scared of "flat-fix" products there are some on the market that are not dangerous or cause any problem when changing a tire and do not ruin tires
If you think I would change a tire in a snowstorm or rainstorm on a road shoulder with or without oncoming traffic you are wrong
My life and my time is worth more than a stupid tire and I have sold more tires than anyone would think of counting
I always carry two (2) spares but never drive without several "flat-fix", in trunk and in the glovebox where it is warm
A few seconds and I am on the road again and the tire can be pulled off and internally patched at leisure in full safety
I have never encountered any of these problems I am reading here on this thread and most are urban legends spread by tire dealers or from using garbage products
All of us have heard of State Troopers getting killed on road shoulders; use your head, use good products, use the best tires, keep tire pressures up to highway specs at least and you will rarely ever have a tire problem
I found one in the toy box. All the passages are tiny until the low pressure side, then it opens up. Upon entry into the regulator there is a mesh that looks like radiator grill. Then there is very small dia passage to the needle, then out to the low pressure side. The connection on this one is std thread, so I'm sure some time in the past it was used for some other gas.
I know a couple of people that are using them as propane regulators on forges, but I can't think of what you'd use it for that has rh threads. Mig/Tig gasses?
This is a lab. Even though all the gasses used with that connection are 2KPSI min. out of the tank and this is 400max., there are some PhDs that believe nothing is impossible. I would guess the gauge on it is shot.
Ah. I kept trying to figure out what kind of gas other than propane gets tanked at that low a pressure. Probably a wonder the needles are still on the posts.
Poor feller made a fatal error. I feel badly for his widow and orphans.
Oh, yeah. I heard about this on the radio today I think. Poor guy.
"My life and my time is worth more than a stupid tire and I have sold more tires than anyone would think of counting."
I always carry two (2) spares but never drive without several "flat-fix", in trunk and in the glovebox where it is warm"
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